Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures climbed by an
expanded daily limit on Friday as China said it would exempt U.S. pork from
additional tariffs imposed during its trade war with the United States.

The exemptions raised hopes for Chinese buying and were seen
as the latest sign of easing Sino-U.S. tensions before a new round of talks
aimed at curbing the bruising trade dispute.

China has imposed three rounds of retaliatory tariffs on
U.S. pork, including 25 per cent increases in April and July 2018 and a 10 per
cent bump this month, raising the total duty to 72 per cent from 12 per cent
before the trade war.

It was not immediately clear if Beijing would suspend some
or all of the tariffs, which have sliced U.S. export sales to China, the
world’s top pork consumer.

China has the potential to further increase imports because
an outbreak of deadly African swine fever has cut its pig herd by a third since
mid-2018, traders said. The trade war and Beijing’s tariffs have been a hurdle
for U.S. suppliers, though.

“The real winner in a trade resolution with China may be the
pork industry,” said Karl Setzer, commodity market risk analyst for Agrivisor.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) October lean hogs jumped
3.3 cents to 66.475 cents/lb. and reached a one-week high. December lean hogs
soared the maximum 4.5 cents to a six-week high of 68.7 cents/lb. February hogs
also climbed the daily trading limit.

The exchange temporarily increased the limit to 4.5 cents
after the market shot up by the standard three-cent limit on Thursday. The
expanded limit will remain in place on Monday.

Beijing said on Thursday that Chinese firms had started to
inquire about prices for U.S. farm goods and that possible purchases included
pork.

“It was the China discussion that really provided the
catalyst here,” said Mike Sands, an independent U.S. livestock market
analyst...

Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. soybean futures hit a six-week
high on Friday as China’s first large purchase of U.S. beans in months and
easing of some duties on U.S. exports fuelled hopes of a detente in the tariff
war between Washington and Beijing.

Corn also firmed as signs of a U.S.-China trade thaw sparked
short covering, while wheat futures ended flat.

All three markets posted their strongest weekly gains since
mid-summer.

A report on Friday that China will exempt some agricultural
products, including soybeans and pork, from additional tariffs added to
optimism about easing trade tensions after Thursday’s news that Chinese firms
had booked at least 10 vessels of U.S. soybeans ahead of high-level talks next
month.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday confirmed a
portion of those sales, reporting that Chinese importers booked 204,000 tonnes
for 2019-20 marketing year shipment.

The year-long tariff battle has stalled massive U.S. soybean
exports to top importer China, swelling U.S. stocks.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he preferred a
comprehensive trade deal with China but did not rule out the possibility of an
interim pact.

“There seems to be a willingness to ratchet down the
rhetoric ahead of these meetings versus ratcheting it up. At this point it’s a
positive sign,” said Jerry Gidel, grain strategist with Price Futures Group...